Summer Bowl

Do you ever find yourself craving light summery food in February? I definitely do. It's probably my body's way of saying, "put down the fries". I found myself feeling like that all week. I wanted green juices, salads, green wraps and zucchini noodles! I'm glad I listened to my body instead of eating my husband's leftover rice last night. Meet my Summer Bowl!

This bowl can be made semi-raw OR fully raw depending on your preference. It will leave you feeling nourished and refreshed either way. Its full if raw and vibrant vegetables, a light but creamy cucumber and tomato cream dressing, and a great array of textures and flavours. I put my new spiralizer to good use making spaghetti shaped noodles out of an English cucumber and a zucchini. I threw in some orange grape tomatoes, shredded savoy cabbage for crunch, and red bell pepper for colour and flavour. I love plain vegetables but I LOVE creamy sauce covered vegetables more. I would probably eat 2 heads of kale if it had the right dressing on it!This bowl is really delicious. You need to make this, even if you're still in winter mode.If you're like me and you overdid it on chocolate this Valentine's Day, this Summer Bowl may be just the ticket to ease your body back into normal eating habits.

This Thursday is Chinese New Year and the perfect day to enjoy long noodles as a symbol of health and long life.

Summer Bowl Base:

1/2 large English cucumber spiralized, noodles drained after spiralizing to remove excess water

1 large zucchini, spiralized

1 red bell pepper, sliced into thin strips

2 small leaves savoy cabbage, finely shredded

1 cup grape tomatoes, sliced in half

1 cup chopped raw OR steamed or black kale or green swiss chard

Gently toss all Base ingredients together in a big serving bowl. Make dressing. Summer Bowl Dressing:

good squeeze of lime juice or orange juice (optional, I didn't use it but it would be good)

a little water if necessary to thin the sauce

To make this Dressing recipe fully raw, substitute cashew or sunflower seed cream for vegenaise. Using a hand blender or normal blender or a food processor, puree all sauce ingredients until smooth. Add a little water if necessary to get the blender to blend properly. Store in a jar in the fridge if you don't use the whole batch. Use as much dressing as you want on your Summer Bowl, but note that too much will make your noodles too soggy.